In office space and other commercial environments it is often desired to have access to electrical outlets or other electrical connections at locations located a distance from standard wall outlets. In order to safely accommodate such situations, floor boxes are typically used. These boxes may be located in the floor near or at the location, such as under a work cubicle or near a piece of machinery, where the connection is needed. The electrical connections may be electrical outlets, telephone jacks or data connections used for networking computers.
Floor boxes may include a flange which sits on top of the floor surface and included an opening to permit access to the electrical connections. A cover is typically removably positionable over the opening to prevent inadvertent contact with the connectors and to restrict debris from contaminating the connectors. One such covered floor box is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,179,634.
Covers may be designed to also restrict the entry of water through the opening. Floor boxes may be exposed to water when the floors are cleaned or from inadvertent spillage. Floor box covers used on tile or cement floors may be subjected to a significant amount of cleaning water as the floors are cleaned. Floor box covers located on carpeted floors are typically less likely to be subjected to water as the floors are cleaned by waterless methods. However, the use of stream cleaners does subject the cover to water.
In order to prevent water from intruding past the cover and onto the electrical connections below, a gasket is typically used. The gasket may be placed between the cover and the flange as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,265,662 or between the cover and a face plate as in U.S. Pat. No. 6,179,634. Without the use of the gasket, the covers in these two patents and in typical floor box covers will permit water to enter through the opening. Gaskets are typically made from a resilient material which can degrade over time rupture or become separated from its seat. If any of these events should occur, the cover is vulnerable to water intrusion and the electrical components will be exposed to water. This may result in degradation of the connections from corrosion and/or short circuiting. Furthermore, water which passes by the gasket is not diverted away from the opening, but is permitted to flow off the flange into the opening.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a floor box cover which resists the intrusion of water without the use of a sealing gasket and diverts water away from the cover opening.